'Frat Rock' Features Classic Rock 'N' Roll Party Tunes

July 5, 1987|By Bruce Britt, Los Angeles Daily News

Rhino Records' Frat Rock album is a comprehensive compilation of classic party rock tunes. The list below includes songs featured on the album, as well as others, with comments from some rock music classicists.

-- ''Louie Louie'' by the Kingsmen: ''The classic of the whole genre. Jack Eely's singing sounded like English was his second language and gibberish was his first,'' said Ken Barnes of Radio & Records magazine.

-- ''Wooly Bully'' by Sam Sham and the Pharaohs: ''A unique song that sounds like a cross between R & B and Tex-Mex. Sounds like it was probably just recorded in a half-hour, but it all came together,'' said rock historian Dr. Demento.

-- ''Shout'' by the Isley Brothers: ''This song reminds me of church more than any other song I perform. It's really nothing more than a gospel song with rock lyrics,'' said ''Animal House'' singer Otis Day.

-- ''Twist and Shout'' by the Isley Brothers, the Beatles: ''Though it's probably a variation on 'Shout,' this eclipses the original with its ascending harmonies, false ending and simple riff,'' Barnes said.

-- ''I Want Candy'' by Strangeloves: ''Its power is in its simplicity. Almost sounds like an exotic, tribal thing,'' said disc jockey Vic Tripp.

-- ''Money'' by Barrett Strong: ''The music is so manic that it occasionally drowns out the vocal. The Kingsmen had a hit with it years later -- the ultimate party-rock homage,'' said disc jockey Steve Propes.

-- ''La Bamba'' by Ritchie Valens: ''It's basically Valens' shouting 'La Bamba,' with his guitar keeping rhythm every step of the way. This was the first song to combine rock with a Latin feel. In fact, some writers have called Valens 'the Little Richard of the San Fernando Valley,' '' Propes said.